The Best Actress
by checkunit7
Summary: Tori Santamaria has never been able to forget her troubling past. She's learned to act as if nothing is wrong. That changes when an old friend comes looking for her.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fanfic under this penname. It's always been in my head, and I'm just now getting around to writing it. Enjoy!**

It was all she could think about, all the time. She'd told everyone she'd blocked it out, but that wasn't true. Tori remembered the day everything happened. She remembered the cold wind against her skin, the footsteps getting nearer, the panicked yell of the man's voice, and the flashing red lights of the ambulance. When she was at school, Tori acted happy and carefree, but when she was alone, she pictured that moment in her head over and over again, just as she dreamed about it every night.

_She looked up at him, the man holding her tiny, cold hand. He was bald with a goatee, and, even though it was freezing outside, he wore only tan pants and a light jacket over a Hawaiian-style shirt. This man was Joseph Jeremiah, her father. They were walking through the snow, coming home from sledding down the hill beside the park. Everything was about to change._

_That's when she heard the footsteps. She turned a little to her right, seeing the man in the shadows trudging through the snow behind her and Joey. All she could see of the man was his scraggly, matted hair and beard and his big, olive green winter coat. Angela pulled on Joey's pants. "Daddy! Daddy, there's a man following us."_

_Joey turned to look back. He stopped when he saw the gleam of a switchblade in the homeless man's hand. The man sped up. "Give me everything you have on you!"_

_Joey let go of Angela's hand as she began hysterically crying. While murmuring comfort to his daughter, Joey put his hands up. He slowly moved his hand to the right back pocket of his pants and pulled out a leather wallet. Joey held it out to the man, who took it._

_As the man looked through the wallet, his face came into contact with the light, and Angela could see every detail of his face. He had more wrinkles than she had ever seen, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, and his teeth were crooked and yellowed. _

_The man suddenly spat in Joey's direction. "You only carry ten bucks with you? What kind of crap is that?"_

_Before either Joey or Angela knew what was happening, the man lunged forward, and the gleam of the blade disappeared into Joey's neck. Angela screamed and ran away as fast as her small legs could carry her. She looked back only to watch the homeless man limp away._

_The good thing about being a smart little girl was that you knew what to do in a time of crisis. Angela entered the pharmacy on the right side of the road. "Help! My daddy! A man stabbed my daddy!"_

_Angela showed the owner of the pharmacy where her father had been killed, and the owner called an ambulance immediately. Sirens disrupted the silence that was formerly only broken by the howling wind and the sobs of a young girl._

_When Angela had been told her father was dead, she lost it. She wouldn't stop crying, no matter how much anyone comforted her. She had no one. Craig wasn't around, and Angela's mother was already dead..._

That memory always ended the funeral, where Joey's lawyer allowed people she didn't know, the Santamaria family, take care of her. She had requested to have her name changed to Victoria, because she could stand to hear anyone but her father say her real name.

A few years after that, Tori Santamaria and the people she would learn to call her parents moved back to Toronto, just a few blocks away from where Angela and Joey used to live. Tori had been through years of therapy, but now it was just easier to say that she didn't remember it. She made her "parents" think that she only remembered _them _as her family.

Tori had learned to become the best actress Canada had ever seen. She hid her pain around everyone else, and she thought she could keep it up forever.

She never thought a certain reporter would come looking for her...

**Sorry it's so short. Next chapter will be longer! Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your support, story followers! I appreciate it greatly!**

It had been right after the curtain had been drawn for the last time on _Romeo & Jules_. Tori had been standing backstage holding hands with her boyfriend, Tristan had been hopelessly staring at Fab, and Dave, Eli, Adam, and Becky had all been discussing whatever topic seemed to pop up. Tori's parents were busy at work, so they couldn't make it to her last performance. In her opinion, it was her worst. This could have been due to the fact that she had spotted a strangely familiar face in the audience.

The woman had shoulder-length brown hair, a strong jawline, and strong cheekbones. She'd worn a charcoal gray pantsuit with a pale pink silk shirt. Throughout the course of the show, Tori had seen this woman snap a few pictures of her. She had tried to brush it off, but for the life of her, the pretty niner couldn't think of where she had seen this woman before. Was she famous? Was she part of the Degrassi Board of Education? Was she a new teacher?

Tori just couldn't put her finger on it.

As Zig smiled at her, Tori snapped out of her thoughts. "Zig, I'll be right back. I need to go talk to Tris about something."

Zig nodded, and Tori pulled Tristan into the back room the girls used to change in. "Tris, did you see that woman with the brown hair and the suit taking pictures every five minutes?"

"No...," answered Tristan, obviously confused.

Tori huffed a sigh of defeat and walked away from Tristan, toward the washroom. She kept trying to plant where she had seen that woman before, but it seemed impossible for her to remember. Maybe the woman in the audience just looked like someone Tori was close to. Maybe she just had one of those faces that reminded everyone of someone they knew. Yeah, that had to be it.

Suddenly, Tori heard footsteps behind her. They weren't just any kind of footsteps. It was the sound of a heel making contact with the linoleum floors of the Degrassi hallways. Tori's face flashed bright red, and she quickened her pace, trying to reach the washroom before the woman could speak to her. Tori heard the woman walking faster. Finally, the woman yelled, "Angela!"

Tori stopped in her tracks, as did the woman. Tori turned and took a step toward the woman, memories flashing before her eyes. This woman was Caitlin Ryan, a reporter who dated Tori's real father when they had lived in Toronto. Things hadn't worked out between Joey and Caitlin, but Tori remembered that she and Caitlin had always been like mother and daughter.

When Tori was standing just inches away from Caitlin, she feigned a smile. "Listen, I don't know who you think I am, but my name is Tori. Victoria Santamaria."

Caitlin wasn't at all fooled. She smiled, her lips tightly closed. "How long has your name been Victoria Santamaria?"

Tori met Caitlin's eyes, her fake smile fading. She was worried. After playing dumb for all this time, one woman was going to completely destroy the life she'd worked so hard to build. However, Tori decided to keep up the act. "My name has been Victoria Santamaria since I was born fifteen years ago."

Caitlin still kept that smile on her face. "Wow. I didn't know it would mess you up this bad. You remember, but you pretend like you don't."

Tori rolled her eyes and turned back around, again heading for the washroom. Caitlin grasped her shoulder and spun her around. Tori threw her hands up. "What the hell do you want, Caitlin?!"

At that moment, Maya Matlin came into the hallway from the girls' washroom. She gave Tori a confused look, then she looked at the woman she didn't know. "Tori, is everything okay?"

Tori suddenly broke down. Tears were coming out of her eyes like they were opened floodgates. Tori fell to her knees, gasping for air. Maya sat down on the floor and put her arms around Tori. She rubbed Tori's back slowly. "Shh. It's okay. Breathe. Breathe."

Caitlin tried to comfort her as well, but Tori wouldn't have it. Maya looked up at Caitlin. "Go to the auditorium and yell for Zig and Tristan. Tell them Tori needs them and bring them back here. Go!"

Caitlin nodded and walked away from the two niners. Maya looked at Tori sadly. "What's wrong, Tor? Whatever it is, you know you can tell me. I'll keep it a secret, and I'm sure if you get it off your chest, you'll feel better."

Sobbing and nearly incoherent, Tori said, "I miss my dad! I miss him so much!"

Tori clung to Maya, who was obviously confused. That didn't make any sense. Tori's dead was still alive and well. Maya had met Tori's dad multiple times. Maya didn't question Tori about what she had said. She just waited until Caitlin got back with Zig and Tristan.

When Zig and Tristan showed up, they got onto their knees, trying and mostly failing to comfort Tori. Maya looked at the boys. "I told her to tell me what was wrong, and she said that she missed her dad. How does that make sense? Her dad is still around. We all just saw him the other day."

Caitlin frowned at Tori. "Tori, you should tell them. They're your closest friends."

"I will tell them as soon as you leave," sobbed Tori, finally starting to stand up, wiping her eyes. She crossed her arms and looked at Caitlin, waiting for her to walk away.

Caitlin shook her head and shrugged. "I just want to see you again."

Caitlin turned and walked away. Maya, Zig, and Tristan all stared at Tori in anticipation. Zig was the first one to speak. "So, what is it that you're telling us?"

"Not now. I'll tell you guys soon, though. I promise," answered Tori.

"That's all we ask," said Tristan, hugging his best friend.

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! More to come!**


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